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The Communal Loss Adaptation Project (CLAP)  invites you to honor disabled losses in the pandemic by participating in the creation of a COVID-19 memorial art installation.

A mosaic of images featuring different folks creating art. White text over the mosaic reads, "Communal Loss Adaptation Project: COVID-19 Disabled Loss Memorial Project." There are 4 vertically cropped images of folks of different ages, races, and ability drawing and working with their hands. The fifth image is of a person holding a vigil candle in the darkness.

About the Installation

The COVID-19 Disabled Loss Memorial Project will be created out of a web of N-95 style masks in the lineage of the AIDS quilt.

You are invited to join in this project by decorating a white mask in honor of a disabled person who has died in the pandemic due to the virus, medical neglect, despair, or other pandemic-related causes. Disabled and chronically ill participants can also choose to decorate a pink mask for other types of pandemic losses such as the loss of relationships, senses, career, or community. Alternatively, mourners can choose to submit a 30-second sound memorial.

We will be collecting contributions from March 2024-March 2025 and the first iteration of this installation will open to the public in March, 2025, to honor the 5 year pandemic anniversary. The main installation of this project will exist online as an interactive digital memorial. Alongside, a smaller COVID safer in-person gathering (details TBA).

We will be offering a series of events posted on this website, where you can gather in your beloved disabled community to share grief and memories as you decorate your mask.

Someone makes art using paint on their feet. They are kneeling and stepping on a large sheet of white paper.
A person using a bionic right hand is seated on the floor, looking at the Communal Loss Adaptation Project website. There is a colorful carpet in front of them, and they are wearing a bright red sweater.

This project is made possible by the generosity of Alice Wong and the Disability Visibility Project. Other partners in this project include: Rebirth Garments, LaVant Consulting, and Evan Bissel.

 

Request a mask as an individual or as a group.

Please read our COVID safety precautions for in-person events here.

If you have any questions about the COVID-19 Memorial Project, please reach out to [email protected]